Pastoral Counseling Service Of Summit County

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION

EXPANSION OF SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES - PROJECT TITLE: EXPANSION OF SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES RED OAK HAS SERVED THE NORTHEAST OHIO COMMUNITY SINCE 1963, PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH PREVENTION, INTERVENTION, AND TREATMENT SERVICES TO NEARLY TWELVE THOUSAND CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS EACH YEAR ACROSS TWENTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND ONE HUNDRED SCHOOL BUILDINGS. THIS WORKFORCE EXPANSION PROJECT ADDRESSES THE CURRENT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE SHORTAGE BY BUILDING THE CLINICAL CAPACITY OF NON-LICENSED PROVIDERS, ALLOWING FOR PROVISION OF HIGH-QUALITY SERVICES TO A PROJECTED THREE-THOUSAND ADDITIONAL CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN THE GREATER AKRON AREA OVER THE COURSE OF THREE YEARS. A TRAINING CURRICULUM FOR 120 HOURS OF CORE INSTRUCTION WILL BE DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL ACADEMIC PARTNERS AND MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS, AND AN ADDITIONAL 72 HOURS OF TRAINING AND SUPERVISION WILL BE PROVIDED TO CLINICIANS OVER THE SPAN OF THE FOLLOWING NINE MONTHS, FOR A TOTAL OF 192 HOURS OF IN-DEPTH ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, ALONG WITH EIGHT WEEKS OF CONSECUTIVE REAL–WORLD ENGAGEMENT WITH EXPERIENCED FIELD CLINICIANS. AS A RESULT, THESE CLINICIANS WILL BE EQUIPPED TO ADDRESS THE NON-THERAPY MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT NEEDS FACING STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL-BASED SETTING, FREEING THERAPISTS TO OPERATE AT THE TOP OF THEIR LICENSE, INCREASING CAPACITY TO BRING ADDITIONAL STUDENTS INTO CARE, AND REDUCING OVERALL CASELOADS. HEADQUARTERED IN THE HIGHLAND SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD OF AKRON, OHIO, RED OAK SERVES CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS (AGES 3-19) USING A PRIMARILY SCHOOL-BASED MODEL OF CARE THAT ALLOWS FOR PROVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES DURING A STUDENT’S SCHOOL DAY. IN 2023, FIFTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF THE CONSUMERS RED OAK SERVED WERE STUDENTS OF COLOR, FORTY-NINE PERCENT WERE MALE, AND EIGHT-EIGHT PERCENT WERE LIVING AT OR BELOW THE POVERTY LINE. THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES HAS SKYROCKETED OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WITH RED OAK SERVING NEARLY THREE TIMES AS MANY STUDENTS LAST YEAR AS IN 2018. DURING THE SAME PERIOD, THE NUMBER OF PROVIDERS LEAVING THE FIELD DUE TO OVERWHELM OR BURNOUT ALSO SURGED, LEAVING THE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SECTOR REELING AS WE ATTEMPTED TO MEET THE INCREASED DEMAND WITHOUT AN AVAILABLE AND EXPERIENCED WORKFORCE. GOAL 1: PARTNER WITH ACADEMIC AND FIELD EXPERTS TO DEVELOP A CURRICULUM AND TRAINING PROGRAM FOR NON-LICENSED PROVIDERS THAT PREPARES THEM TO MEET THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY. GOAL 2: INCREASE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE CAPACITY BY PROVIDING PRACTICAL, COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING PAIRED WITH CONCURRENT OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK ALONGSIDE EXPERIENCED FIELD CLINICIANS. GOAL 3: IMPROVE THE HEALTH OUTCOMES AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR YOUTH AND ADOLESCENTS IN THE GREATER AKRON AREA BY SERVING AN ADDITIONAL 1,000 STUDENTS PER YEAR FOR 3 YEARS. OVER THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT, RED OAK WILL TRAIN AND DEPLOY 96 NON-LICENSED SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, INCREASING OUR CURRENT WORKFORCE BY 76% AND ALLOWING US TO MEET THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF AN ADDITIONAL 3,000 CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS OVER A THREE-YEAR PERIOD. TRAINEES WILL RECEIVE 192 HOURS OF TRAINING (120 IN THEIR INITIAL 8 WEEKS AND 72 HOURS IN THE 9 MONTHS THAT FOLLOW), ALONG WITH CONSECUTIVE FIELD ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES WITH EXPERIENCED CLINICIANS WHO ARE EQUIPPED TO PROVIDE MENTORING AND SUPPORT THEIR CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT.